Brett M Bressler, PA

Personal injury law is the broad description of legal remedies whereby the victim of an accident or intentional act seeks monetary compensation from the offending party, either a person, corporation, or other legal entity. In Florida, personal injury claims are regulated by Florida Statutes or by common law. Auto negligence is one of the most common tort claims for personal injury, property damage, diminished value and loss of use claims. Bodily injury claims are controlled by Florida Statute 627.737, which provides for Florida’s No-Fault tort exemption which states that the victim of auto negligence can collect damages for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and inconvenience. However, the victim must have bodily injury that reaches a certain threshold, often referred to the “Florida no-fault Threshold” which is defined as a significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function; permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability; significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement; or death. In cases of major accidents causing death or obvious injury, the victim of auto negligence is obvious and the plaintiff can collect pain and suffering, the intangible damages, from the defendant. In other cases, permanent injury can be proven by other facts such as the fact that the victim required surgical repair or treatment of an injury, diagnostic testing such as an MRI or CT scan, or based on the opinion from a licensed doctor.

Some of the most common surgeries following an auto accident are spinal and orthopedic surgery such as: spinal fusion; microdiscectomy; laminectomy; laser spine surgery; fracture surgery; knee and shoulder surgery; and, hand surgery.